1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surgical instruments and more particularly to a device of grasping and extracting a needle used for placing sutures within a body of tissue or cartilage such as the body of a human being or of an animal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many surgical procedures are currently being performed where it is necessary to make a large opening to expose the area of, for instance, a human body that requires surgical repair. This is true even though there are instruments available which allow the viewing of certain areas which have limited accessibility. For example, arthroscopes are available to permit viewing of a human knee joint through a puncture wound without exposing the entire joint of the knee by cutting through the skin in that area.
These viewing instruments can be used to detect, among other things, surgically repairable tears within the cartilage of the knee. Shaving instruments exist which allow parts of the damaged cartilage to be shaved off and removed from the knee joint through a cannula or tube without requiring that the knee be opened. However, prior to this time it has been necessary to open the knee to sew the tear in the cartilage.
When an area of the body is cut into to expose an interior portion thereof, that process involves some morbidity which increases as more muscle layers, ligaments and other tissues are cut and separated. This morbidity, or time and discomfort associated with recovery and chance of complications, would be greatly reduced if the required surgery were performed without making a large incision, cutting and separating various tissues, and exposing a large portion of the interior of the body.
A device has been provided to introduce one or two needles carrying suture material into a relatively inaccessible location percutaneously through a cannula by using one or two 25 cm. long needles to pass entirely through the knee joint. Although such an approach may work in some cases, there are neurovascular structures directly behind the menisci in the knee joint which could be jeopardized by the passage of the needles through that area.